Enabling HR Transformation in current times through Effective Systems usage

In my last post I talked about how HR can transform the way it looks at the current economic environment from a Talent perspective. In this post, I would talk about how Talent transformation can be enabled by effective usage of systems, even in current times.

Let's analyze how the three panes contribute to Effective Talent Management,

1. People: People form the core of any talent management strategy. Traditionally, when an organization's performance is good, its employees know what to expect from HR and the company. They are not bound to cost cutting pressures and this allows companies to define strategies easily. However in uncertain times, the management consults the HR function to recommend and devise strategies that will help the company bring down costs. Sometimes while resorting to such measures, organizations have resorted to across the board retrenchments or cost cutting. This not only affects the morale of employees, it also leads to lowering of engagement level, thereby lowering productivity.
   
2. When times were good, organizations had all the resources to invest in keeping their processes in tune with the demands of business, however with pressures on resources, organizations are witnessing a shift from a process driven approach to a random approach, where everything that leads to " savings " is fine. Again this would well serve the cause in short term, but over long term is bound to cause more damage to organizations.
   
3. Last but not the least, Technology. HR and Technology have been synonymous with each other not so long back. CIO's used to pride themselves in introducing Talent automation driven projects, but that was then, now HR automation again faces the brunt of cost pressures, with the focus more on business critical projects.
   

   Having said this, I would like to look at the impact of looking at these three panes in isolation.
   

   1. The measures may serve short term means, but what about long term goals? How do organizations retain their brand image? What do they do with Talent strategy, we all know its difficult to get talent in good times, why not make efforts now?
      
   2. Remember, technology is changing continuously at a pace faster than ever, if you don't invest in your employees, you would be left behind
      
   3. HR automation is the best answer to help organizations effectively manage the transition of their talent in these times.
      

Before I look at what organizations can do, let me give some examples of where an organization faces problems due to above factors in these times. You are the CHRO of the organization which is impacted with cost pressures, so what do you do? Do you reduce workforce? Do you redeploy them? Do you shut down a few projects? Do you ask your employees to go on compulsory leave? While as an organization, you would have done one or more of the following already, more often than not the choice is backed by information rather than data! This is what makes a difference, if you have perfect information on the talent utilization, you would be able to resort to more meaningful measures.

So now, how organizations can really invest in better utilization of their resources in current times.

• Automate Service Delivery – Studies have proved that automating service delivery (HR Transactions) can result in both cost savings as well as better utilization of HR workforce.
  
• Identify and Segment Talent – Better identification of what constitutes " critical talent " within your workforce and focus on that to bring the best result in current times. These employees would have a higher productivity and better utilization. To enable this, organizations must have a complete visibility of the talent profiles (skills, competencies) of their workforce and what their business requires.
  
• Engage the workforce – While most organizations have cut on their training costs, this is perhaps the best time to invest in the development of your employees. With an ambiguity surrounding the work environment, not only trainings can be reassuring to employees, it also means they are better prepared to face the challenges of tomorrow. Automating training, and providing web based learning could be best for organizations looking to engage the workforce.
  
• Develop Future leadership – Organizations should continue to invest in leadership development. This involves identification of the critical talent, enabling them to take on higher or challenging assignment and making the work environment conducive to their growth. This would mean investing in measures to ensure that critical talent is taken care of well.
  

Finally, we should ask one questions, do we see the current times as a challenge or opportunity? If its opportunity then HR technology can be your biggest friends in these times and investing in HR Automation could be the best thing to do !!